Exports are an Opportunity for Small Businesses

Today, the SBA Office of Advocacy releases an update to the Quarterly Indicators: The Economy and Small Business for the third quarter of 2008, which I write.  One of the few bright spots in the economy right now are exports, which were up an annualized 5.9 percent in the third quarter.  Imports, meanwhile fell 1.9 percent on an annualized basis.  Clearly, export have helped to keep our economy much stronger than it would have been otherwise, and small businesses – which in 2006 accounted for just less than 30 percent of all known export value – have been a part of that.

Earlier this week, I asked small business owners on Linked In to comment on how aggressive they have been in pursuing exports.  Most of the responses suggested an aggressive posture towards international trade, or at the very least, a desire to do so.  One individual noted that overseas markets, unlike our domestic one, have stronger economic climates and are eager to buy American products and services.  (With the current global economic downturn, that might be less true than before.)  Another, the president of a company specializing in sustainable innovation opportunities, stated the following:  “Despite the statistics, people still remain reluctant to drive into international markets. I believe if only the ‘undecided’ take time to educate themselves, they will see the international arena as a fruitful arena that will only generate benefits for them. There is a lot of good people whose main focus is to help and not necessary be pushing the profit at all times.”

Finally, for those businesses which are interested in exploring international trade, one respondent suggested that they refer to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Trade Promotion website.